There is on the market today body cushions which, in themselves, serve as a seating apparatus. One such body cushion, more commonly referred to as a "Bean Bag", is formed of a plurality of long, narrow panels, typically ranging in length from four feet to eight feet, attached one to the other to form a large bag-like structure. Among the materials used to fill such cushions, the more popular fill is a pellet-shaped expanded synthetic resinous material, manufactured by Dow Chemical Company under the trademark STYROFOAM.
The cushion is filled to approximately 60 percent of its fully capacity, thereby allowing room for the filling to be disposed when the bag receives an occupant. When a person seats himself on the cushion, usually situated on the floor, the styrofoam pellets contained within the cushion dispose themselves, under the weight of the person, to produce an occupant-receiving cavity.
While such body cushions are convenient and inexpensive, their use is not without certain difficulties. For example, very little support is provided the occupant who wishes to sit in a relatively upright sitting position. If the user leans back, the pellets in the bag behind the user will dispose themselves to the side so that the user winds up in a substantially horizontal position. Moreover, as the pellets are disposed the user sometimes will roll off one side of the body cushion.
Since such body cushions are usually used on a floor, this low position makes it difficult for persons to get up from such cushions. This difficulty is amplified by the lack of any supporting structure associated one may utilize to rise from a sitting position.
Finally, when the cushion is occupied, the enclosed styrofoam pellets are disposed outward against the cushion cover under the weight of an occupant. This outward disposition of pellets tends to place a substantial strain upon the seams of the cushion. After much use, the seams begin to tear under the strain. Moreover, continually dragging the cushion over the floor from one position in a room to another position contributes to the wear and tear. Thus, the useful lifespan of such body cushions are not as long as they could be.